UMD News Releases

UMD's Sustainability Fair will be held on April 19 and 20. The events begin with a talk by Don Shelby, retired news anchor, investigative reporter and environmental correspondent for WCCO-TV in the Twin Cities. His talk "The Most Important Story Since Journalism Began - Global Climate Change" will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday April 19 in the Chemistry Building, Room 200.

The events continue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, with a series of sustainability panel talks and organization tables in the Kirby Lounge and Kirby Student Center. Panel topics are:

• 10 a.m. - Sustainability and Stewardship of Mineral Resources in Minnesota, by Jim Miller of the Natural Resources Research Institute
• 11 a.m. - Biogeologic Carbon Sequestration – a Cost-effective Proposal, by George Shaw of Union College
• 12 p.m. - The UMD Energy Action Plan, by Mindy Granley, Stacey Stark and Karl Novek of UMD
• 1 p.m. - Climate Change Facts, by Christina Gallup and Jay Austin of UMD

To meet terms of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, the UMD Sustainability Committee led the creation of the UMD Energy Action Plan. Faculty expertise, academic research, and student involvement are instrumental in implementing this plan. UMD hopes to achieve a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The campus is focusing first on energy efficiency upgrades and energy conservation strategies in buildings, as buildings represent over 90 percent of campus greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation changes and encouraging energy-saving campus community behaviors are also a priority.

To view and comment on the UMD Energy Action Plan, visit: http://www.d.umn.edu/sustain/commitment/eap.html

For more information about the Sustainability Fair, and other upcoming events, visit http://www.d.umn.edu/sustain/